Finding love in unlikely places
by FelesMagica
Summary: After a violent break up, Harry Potter only wants to be left alone. He returns to Hogwarts in the firm belief that nobody would come near him there. Too bad one of his colleges doesn't see it his way. Can love blossom in this unlikely place?
1. in which games are played

**Finding love in unlikely places**

**Author: **FelesMagica

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter or any of these characters (these belong to J. K. Rowling). However, I **do** own my plot.

**Summary: **After a violent break up, Harry Potter wants to be left alone. He returns to Hogwarts in the firm belief, nobody would come near him there. To bad one of his colleges doesn't see it his way. Can love blossom in this unlikely place?

**Genre: **Romance/Friendship

**Warnings:** This fic is not - and I emphasize NOT - canon. Most of the pairings and happenings will be different, products of my creative mind.

**Challenge:** This is an answer to Deadly Poppy's „Romance-in-20-chapters-challenge".

**Beta-reader:** frannienzbabe, thanks a lot for your wonderful help!

* * *

1. In which games are played:

"I can't frickin' believe it!"

A loud bang, followed by an even louder crash followed the high pitched, female scream. An enraged, young witch was standing in the middle of a once neatly kept room, panting heavily as she looked at the hill of dust and sharps that had once been a beautiful, roman vase. In cold fury she had thrown it against the wall. Still panting heavily and not in the slightest appeased, the young witch turned around and stared angrily at the young wizard leaning against the wall.

Dark, black hair, once untidy, now a little bit longer and more tameable, a tanned skin, broad, muscular body and a pair of big, emerald green eyes stared at her with impassion. On the inside the young wizard was fuming and more than a little bit hurt by the young witch's actions. He hadn't expected it to be easy, but for her to freak out like this even surpassed his expectations. This evening would end horrendously and there was nothing he could do against it.

Not even apologizing would help in this state of things.

The young witch ignored the dark haired wizard's silence. In truth it looked like it only enraged her more and more. Brown eyes stared at him in accusation and anger, her long hair was wiping due to an unseen force and her whole being was shaking due to badly suppressed rage. If she had her wand at hand, she would have cursed him right there at the moment, he was sure of it.

Thankfully he had disarmed her, before this got too out of hand.

"You want to break up after more than two years of relationship, Harry? Is that what you want? To break up with me even before we had sex for the first time?!"

Her voice had risen more and more. Sighing in relief, Harry Potter remembered he had put up some special wards, so others wouldn't be able to witness their disagreement at the moment. He had known his once girlfriend and soon to be ex girlfriend wouldn't take the break up nicely. But for her to bring up their lack of love life was even too low for her. Why couldn't she understand he needed his time? He wanted it to feel right, but sadly with her this moment had never crossed them. So why couldn't she accept it wasn't the right thing to do for him?

Snapping out of his thoughts, Harry realized, the young witch hadn't finished her rant.

"All we do is kissing. For more than two years. It's like we are kids in their third year at Hogwarts! Holding hands, smiling tentatively at each other and sometimes snogging in a deserted hall way. You have never touched me. Never once in more than two years of relationship! Am I this ugly? Do you feel so much disgust and revolt you can't even stand to stroke my cheek?!"

She wanted to grab the next vase and crush it against the wall, but a flick of Harry's wand prevented her from doing it. With a scream of pure rage she turned around and glared at him.

"You don't know how embarrassing this is! Every time I meet my friends, they want to hear about you and me, us! They want to know whether you are as good as others claim you to be. They pester me for information; want to know your favourite food, you favourite places, your favourite music and your favourite of my dresses. For short, they want to know what turns you on. And all I can tell them is that we never did it! Do you know what kind of bad influence this has on me? They think you don't find me attractive, Harry James Potter!"

The young wizard couldn't help but suppress a wince. She always reminded him so much of Hermione Granger when she was calling him by his whole name. But even his remembrance of Hermione couldn't help him overcome what the young witch had said. As soon as all of the information had sunk in, Harry's blood pressure rose and he started to shake with fury.

"Ah, so that's it. You feel disappointed you can't show off in front of your friends. There is nothing special you can tell them about us. Is this why you always pester me to kiss you in public? So some photograph for one of those newspapers can take a shoot and print it for the whole world to see? For your friends to see? You betray me, my trust and the base of our relationship for some articles about us, about our relationship, about our _love life_? Did you really sink so low?"

With a harsh movement of his hand, Harry silenced her upcoming retort.

"This is exactly one of the reasons I want us to part ways. I want to live my life in peace, somewhere in the country side, away from the entire ruckus and all the trouble society causes. I want to live my life without media, without interviews about me, pictures taken from me or just plain weird stories circling around me. I want to be left alone. Be normal just for once in my life."

Turning now slightly accusing eyes at the fuming witch, Harry continued his explanation.

"But this isn't how _you_ wish to live your life. You always thought you came too short in life. Only, but last daughter out of seven siblings, you never got the feeling to be special. All you did had been done before by one of them. You were good at something - someone was before. You achieved something - someone did before. You wanted to stay in spot light ever since you were little, so all of your family's attention would for once be solely on you."

Big green eyes started to freeze over in cold fury, sending shivers down the young witch's spines, even while she tried to prevent it.

"And this is where I and this break up make an appearance. You where in love with me ever since you saw me. You followed me, knew everything about me, yes, even stalked me for quite some time. I didn't see you for most of my time at Hogwarts, but your motivation never wandered. And then, after my seventh year, your patience was rewarded. We started to flirt, then started to go for a date and then, two long years later, we got together. You were happy; you achieved the first step of your plan."

His normally soft and caring voice, turned cold and ironic. If one had looked close enough, he or she would have been able to see, how much saying this hurt him.

"But your plan didn't work out. I wasn't the type of boyfriend you had wished for. I didn't take you to fancy restaurants, and when I did, I tried to avoid attention. I wasn't patrolling in front of each and every camera I saw. I didn't kiss nor touched you in public; I wasn't keen on seeing pictures of us in the newspaper, on reading stories about our life. I hated it and you knew it. But nevertheless you tried to talk me into doing it again and again. If you are looking for a spot light loving, attention seeking guy, you should have tried your luck with Malfoy."

Her fists started trembling so much, Harry feared she was about to drop. With ice cold fury, the young witch turned to him and screamed into his face.

"I did not hear that last comment. And don't act like this is only my fault. Perhaps, if you had spent more time with me, rewarded me with more attention - attention I earned - I wouldn't have to stoop to those measures. But every time I was asking for some alone time, for romantic time, you claimed to be busy. Every time I was invited to a social gathering, you said you couldn't participate. How do you think, does this make me feel? Always arriving alone there? I felt like I was frickin' single, for Merlin's sake!"

Rising on hand, the young witch pointed an accusing finger at the young wizard.

"And don't you tell me you really had something to do! I know this can't be. Nobody works through the evenings and the whole weekends. You just weren't in the mood to accompany me! Many of my friends and family told me this before, but I denied it, always telling them this couldn't be true. They warned me, warned me of you betraying me, cheating on me behind my back. And the loyal girlfriend I was, I told them this couldn't be true, it wasn't your style; you loved me too much to do something like this. But now I think they are right. You are cheating on me! That's why you want us to break up!"

Harry had to hold onto himself; otherwise he would have punched the offending witch right into her face. It wouldn't help him in the slightest. But there she was standing and accusing him of being the one at fault for their break up? That his lack of attention seeking and media loves was the reason they were standing in his living room now, screaming and fighting? I just couldn't be.

"You dare accuse me of cheating on you, when I know for sure you were the one cheating on me the whole time?! I know, you met with other guys, snogging with them, letting them touch you and probably do other things with you as well. So don't you dare accuse me of doing this! Every time you left for a social gathering, I knew you would return absolutely wasted. Every time I would wait for you, help you change and then bring you to bed. Every time I saw those love bites, saw how your dress was misplaced and how you were missing parts of jewellery or your underwear. And every single night I told myself it would be the last time, you wouldn't do it again. Because you loved me."

A crash near his head efficiently stopped his rant. He had been too caught up in what he was saying to notice his ex grabbing another vase and throwing it at him with all the force she could muster.

Looking up, he was greeted by her having her hands placed above her hips.

"Perhaps if you had fulfilled my needs, I wouldn't have had to satisfy them somewhere else! I mean, you've known me since you were eleven. That was another eleven years ago! I caught your attention six years ago, we started going out four years ago and then we got together two years ago. What is exactly your problem? You know me for so much time. Is it really too much to get a little intimate with me?!"

Stomping her foot on the floor, Harry thought she looked like a small kid, not allowed to stay up at night.

"And don't you tell me, you are waiting for it to feel right. Nobody can live this long without any activity in his or her love life. You could be the perfect prude, you know? Waiting for it after you have been wed. Well, if this is your problem, I can help you solve it. I would be happy to marry you right here and then. But this isn't your problem, isn't it? Marriage isn't what you're waiting for. Because for years now I want to talk about it with you. But every time this topic crosses our ways, you brush it away, stating it wouldn't be the right moment. No, I think you do this differently. Behind my back, you satisfy your own needs. That is why you can live without them around me. Because when you are alone, someone is there for you."

Her eyes suddenly grew wide and an animalistic glint appeared in them.

"It's Lavender, isn't it? The stupid bint that claimed to be such a good friend of yours? I can remember quite well, during your school time, you two didn't get on so well. To be rather honest, I would have said, you didn't know each other at all. But now she is writing you letters, inviting you over for tea or some chit-chat, asking whether you wanted to accompany her doing something. And each and every time you do! So the black and long haired beauty, with the captivating grey eyes, caught your heart, didn't she?"

Harry couldn't help but stare at his ex. This was starting to get absurd. She thought he was cheating on her with Lavender? True, they hadn't been so close during their school time. But after Voldemort had been vanquished, she had one night visited him in the hospital wing, where he had been lying, suffering from the after effects of the final battle. With tears in her eyes she had apologized for not being there for him, when he had needed. Due to his efforts, her family had been rescued and had survived the battle without losses. She saw it in her duty to help him, whatever it might be.

And Harry had been all too happy to accept this offer. He knew for sure, that Lavender would be taking over the post of Divination teacher, just like Neville was going to teach Herbology from the next year on. He wanted to have some friends here in Hogwarts, so he could visit he first real home, without looking like he was homesick.

Befriending Lavender had been easy. It was nice talking with her, as she had a great knowledge about all kind of different things, but contrary to Hermione, she didn't boast with it. During his stays she had taught him a lot about wizarding customs and how to act correctly in high society. Harry soon found, he was enjoying her company a lot and started to look forward to meeting with her again.

But never had they crossed the bridge from friendship to lovers.

The last days she had been writing him a lot, as she had informed him that the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was going to be free soon and had asked him, whether he wanted to take it over. Harry didn't need much time to think about it. He had loved this subject and he had loved working with children. So the next day Harry had answered her, he would be honoured taking it over and asked her, whether she would be able to persuade Headmaster Flitwick to assign it to him.

She had written him, because she wanted to tell him he had the post. Nothing more.

"That's it. You crossed the bridge. I wasn't happy with you starting to ruin my home and insult me constantly. But insulting my friends just is too much. Leave, before I forget myself and something bad happens. Just go, I already sent your things home."

Suddenly her eyes turned wide and tears appeared in them. Her lips trembled and she had to sniff. She looked like she was on the verge of crying and would have broken even the coldest man's heart, hadn't Harry known better. And sadly for her, Harry knew better. He knew this was her last resort, crying on command, looking like the innocent and fragile girl; he had once fallen in love with. But Harry knew this wasn't true. It was a fake, like many other things about her.

Ignoring her sniffing and the tears, Harry walked over to the front door and opened it. Turning around, Harry looked at her with firm and impassive eyes. Inside he felt nothing, no rage, no hurt and no satisfaction. The only thing he felt was a blissful nothing.

"Go. You've had your fun. Now stop playing your games with me. I never wanted it to end like this, but your games leave me no other resort. Go home, rethink your actions and then forget me, as I will never be together with you again. You mistreated my trust, you betrayed me."

With slow, wavering steps, the young witch passed him, only to stop outside the door and looked at him pleadingly. There was shock in her eyes; she hadn't thought it possible for him to end it for good. But Harry didn't waver. He had made his decision and he would stay with it.

"You played your games, you gambled and you lost everything. That's life. That's taking a risk. Don't come near me again. Don't visit me. Don't search for me. I'm through with you. I hope, one day you will find the guy to satisfy all your needs, but frankly, it won't be me. Live you're life. Find happiness. That is all I can tell you to do."

With that he closed the door without another word. He could hear her screaming, heard her small fists pound against the firm wood of his front door, heard and felt how she tried to overcome the wards, tried to apparate into his house and failed. Before she had returned to his home, he had warded all entrances new again. After some minutes, he could hear her sobbing and then all was quite.

Turning around and observing the mess she had left behind, Harry wondered, if he would ever find the right girl. A girl, who would love him and not just his fame.

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A/N: Ideas, constructive critisism, wishes, questions and reviews are most welcomed. Just send them to me and make my day.


	2. in which there is a wedding

**Finding love in unlikely places**

**Author: **FelesMagica

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter or any of these characters (these belong to J. K. Rowling). However, I **do** own my plot.

**Summary: **After a violent break up, Harry Potter wants to be left alone. He returns to Hogwarts in the firm believe, nobody would come near him there. To bad one of his colleges doesn't see it his way. Can love blossom in this unlikely place?

**Genre: **Romance/Friendship

**Warnings:** This fic is not - and I emphasize NOT - canon. Most of the pairings and happenings will be different, products of my creative mind.

**Challenge:** This is an answer to Deadly Poppy's „Romance-in-20-chapters-challenge".

**Beta-reader:** frannienzbabe, thanks a lot for your wonderful help!

* * *

2. In which there is a wedding:

Harry Potter sighed.

He was sitting on one of the nearly hundred white, wooden chairs, pink and white flowers draped at the back and a white and pinkish ribbon at its front. The day was beautiful, a cloud free, light blue sky greeted his eyes, the sun shone brightly at the assembled crowd and the dozen of flowers placed around him were smelling wonderful. All in all it could be one of those very few but perfect days of your life. It could be, but it wasn't.

Today was the day of Ron's and Hermione's wedding.

Harry sighed again. It wasn't as if this happening was so surprising. The two had been in love with each other for nearly eight years now. It was bound to happen. No, it wasn't their wedding that caused Harry to dread this day. When his friends had told him of their wedding plans, Harry had been happy and excited. It had been quite clear to him it was about to happen soon and he had been looking forward to it, so his friends could stop acting like fools.

But they didn't. The moment they proclaimed the date of their wedding, the seemed to only radiate around each other. Before this dreadful day, Harry and Ron had met once a week, to do whatever men did in their free time. They made sport, went to a bar, joked or just talked about nothing important. Now it had been over half a year ago, they had been doing something like this. Now every time Harry met Ron, Hermione would be there to join them.

Nothing against Hermione, but she surely knew how to crush the mood. Now they wouldn't do sports, no, now they would go for a walk or visit a museum. Going to a bar was replaced by going to a fine, fancy restaurant with more stars than the entire universe and joking was replaced by discussing new, scientific developments. And worst of all, talking about nothing important was now talking about important, influential stuff.

So at some time during the last half year, Harry had stopped attending those weekly meetings. He had thought, Ron would realize Harry was missing and would come by and ask what the problem was. To his great dismay, Harry had to realize, Ron didn't notice. His two friends had stopped noticing him. Instead they were only living for the other, always staying at the other's side, always doing what the other wished of them. His friends were so caught up in their love life; they didn't realize how their friendship with Harry was going down.

Sadly this wasn't the only problem that stood between them at the moment.

When Harry had broken up with Ginny two months ago, he had hoped Ron and Hermione would be understanding, accepting and even a little bit of supporting. His reasons for breaking up were valid ones. It wasn't like he had found another girl and had spontaneously decided Ginny wasn't good enough for him anymore. No, they didn't match and they had developed into different persons. That was the main reason for his break up - a reasonable reason or so he had thought.

But when he had returned home after a long and stressful day of work the day after his horrendous break up with Ginny, Harry wasn't greeted by his two best friends and their compassionate and understanding eyes. No, a large, red, fuming howler had greeted him instead. Not knowing what else to do, Harry had opened it with dread and fear. He had expected the worst, but what he had to hear, was something he had never expected and what he was about to count as one of the biggest betrayals in his entire, short life.

Ron hadn't been very happy when he had returned home one day and found his only, younger sister, the one he had always cared for the most, crying her soft, brown eyes out on one of the couches. Being the good, big brother he was, Ron had asked his sister what had happened, who had caused her so much pain and sorrow. Even in this howler Ron had to confess, he didn't understand all of what she was trying to tell him between her heartbreaking sobs, but the parts he understood made him realize something important.

Harry had deliberately broken up with Ginny, because he thought she wasn't good enough for him and he, as he had quite the lifestyle, wasn't the type of man to bind himself to the first woman crossing his way.

Harry's blood froze while hearing this. Ginny, the little, manipulating, spot light loving Ginny, the girl he had once cared for with all his heart, the small, innocent, lovable girl, had lied right into her brother's face just to cause Harry pain and misery. He had told her so clearly, why he thought it better to break up than stay together, but Ginny in her cold fury and betrayed heart, had deliberately forgotten to share those understandable and logical reasons. She wanted to punish him, cause him pain for daring to break up with her and frankly, she had succeeded.

Ever since this moment, the air seemed to freeze when Harry met one of the Weasley family. Molly had been crushed when her baby girl told her, Harry and she weren't about to marry and all the preparations and planning weren't going to get them anywhere. Several howlers had she sent, but none of them had changed Harry's decision. Arthur, Percy, George, Bill and Charlie, had all told him, they found it sad the two of them didn't work out, but if it wasn't meant to be then it wasn't meant to be.

But where the other five Weasley males were lacking anger and loathing, Ron was storing theirs. Very much like his sister had Ron been dreaming about Harry marrying her. In his eyes, then his life would be perfect. His best mate marrying his sister, becoming one of the Weasley clan. That Harry had never wished for taking over the Weasley name, that he and Ginny weren't meant to be, didn't bother him in the slightest. It had been his ideal wish for the future and now Harry had ruined it.

Ron had even gone so far as to try to tell Harry, he wasn't welcomed at his wedding. Only Hermione's logical thought of mind, had kept him from it. The media ruckus, which sure as hell would ensue as soon as they got notice of Harry attending his best friend's wedding, wouldn't be a nice one. Reporters would want to know what caused this rather unexpected development; they would pester for interviews, would shoot thousands of unnecessarily photos and finally would drag poor, innocent Ginny in it. So Ron, even while he was still fuming, noticed this course of action would hurt them more than help them.

This was why Harry was now sitting in the Weasley's garden instead of sitting in his favourite armchair, reading his favourite book, drinking a cup of his favourite tea in his favourite home at Grimmauld Palace. That was why Harry was at this moment staring at the front, where Ron was standing twitchingly, waiting for his wife to come. He wore a nearly never used before tuxedo and was looking rather fancy. To be honest, Harry had never thought he would see Ron look like a proper gentleman one day. Figures it had to be Hermione to change him so drastically.

At this moment the entrance music ensued and Hermione appeared in the garden. She wore a brightly shining, pompous wedding gown, her hair made in a fancy bun, that must have cost one poor, suffering soul hours for creating it. With a broad smile, she was accompanied by her father and was walking to where her husband was waiting impatiently for her like a queen. Harry couldn't help but think that a plain, simple dress would have been better for Hermione to wear. She wasn't the type to wear fancy dresses and this pompous one only made her look fake.

After Hermione a red haired and a blond haired girl were trailing behind. Both were dark blue, short, but nice looking dresses. Their hair was falling to their face freely in strong, lively waves. Harry's stomach knotted, when he realized, his ex was going to stare down at him for the next hour. She walked stiffly, as if she had problems walking properly and every once and then a light sniff escaped her nose. As soon as she had arrived at her spot behind Hermione, she turned around and stared daggers at Harry. The young man could hear the people around him mutter in uneasiness, but to be frankly, he didn't care.

He could understand their confusion. Before their break-up, Harry and Ginny had been the dream couple of the wizarding community. Always in love, always smiling at each other, always understanding the other's problems or reasoning. There hadn't been one single, public fall out during their four years lasting relationship. There had been voices suggesting a soon to be wedding between those two, mostly encouraged by Ginny or her mother. They must have thought that if just the newspapers would write often enough about Harry proposing to Ginny, that one day he might crack under the social pressure and do so.

With a frown appearing and a light snort escaping his mouth, Harry contemplated this thought. Yes, Ginny had been quite demanding about a wedding. Every once in a while she would tell him about friends of her going to get wed soon, looking at him intently though Harry had never given those tales a second thought. Marrying Ginny had just never crossed his mind. It wasn't like he hadn't loved her, but for him to make the step and propose to someone, there needed to be more than love.

Apparently Ginny had thought different. The day he had thrown her out of his home, Harry had sorted through every single room, looking for things that belonged to Ginny, so that he could pack them away into a big box and then send it to her parents' home. In one of her former cupboards, Harry had found a small box. The box wasn't magically shut and opened, as soon as Harry touched the wooden cover. Frowning in surprise, Harry took a look at the contents of the box, only to let it fall out of his hands with a surprised gasp.

Inside had been dozens and dozens of wedding articles, newspaper pages about wedding gowns, and announcements of ring shops and finally something that look suspiciously like invitation cards for his and her wedding. Only the exact date was missing, everything else was already there. Ginny had been quite obsessed with him proposing to her and the more Harry thought about it, the clearer and the more frightening it got.

With his frown disappearing and a last shake of his head, to clear it, Harry came back to the present. Letting his eyes wander away from his death glaring ex, Harry instead looked at the girl standing next to Hermione and instantly stiffened.

His breath got caught in his throat as his eyes were fixed on the blond haired girl. She had a lovely face, nicely shaped. A small nose, full, pink, kissable lips and two big, blue eyes surrounded by long, dark lashes and perfect trimmed eyebrows. Her hair fell loosely around her face, reaching her back and looking like a cascade of pure silver. She had a nice figure, Harry could tell due to the form fitting dress. Nice breasts, flat abdomen, feminine hips and long, nicely shaped thighs. She looked like an angel to Harry and the young man couldn't help but question his mind, why he had never realized before.

When Luna Lovegood caught Harry starring at her, she waved back at him enthusiastically, causing him to blush.

Loud, thunderous clapping finally broke Harry free of his captivating thoughts. With a strange sensation, Harry realized he hadn't noticed one word spoken during the whole wedding ceremony. He hadn't even noticed the famous "You may kiss the bride now." speech at the end. All the time he had been staring fascinated at Luna, the way she was smiling lightly at him, every time she looked at him, the way her silver blond hair shone in the bright sunlight, the way the dress accentuated her perfect figure and the way she just seemed to be more mature, more like a true woman than any other female being around him. He hadn't seen her in a while and seeing her now, caused his heart to flutter.

Idly he asked himself, whether he had finally lost his mind, as he was starting to fall for another girl just two month after breaking up with Ginny.

But frankly, it felt too good to be wrong.

He knew Ginny was trying to kill him with her stares. He knew Ron and Molly were trying the same with Luna. He knew Hermione was frowning at him and his actions. He knew the other Weasleys were probably asking themselves, what had hit him. And he knew for sure that the rest of the guests and the reporters attending the man-who-survived best friends' wedding were going to have a field day gossiping about what he was doing. But Harry didn't care. He was free now, he was young, he was feeling good and there was nobody who could question his motives, making him responsible.

So when the music started and the newlywed pair started to dance a slow waltz, Harry took his chance and got up from his chair. He ignored all the whispering, pointing and staring. He ignored Ginny and Molly who tried in vain to keep him from doing what he was about to do due to their mere glaring. Had he been still be together with Ginny, this might have worked. But as he was free now, there constant lecturing about what he was to do and what not were quite lost on him. With his head high and his shoulders firm, Harry walked over to where Luna was standing so lonely. He tentatively smiled at her and then bowed lightly.

"Would you, young lady, be so kind and dance with me?"

He had expected her to decline, to tell him she could only dance with him as a friend, as this was how she was feeling about him. He would have understood it. She was the only one he had been able to invite to the horrendous Christmas party in his sixth year. She had been the only one to accompany him as a friend, a true friend that is. What if she was just smiling back at him, because she was still his friend, because she didn't want to be unfriendly? What if she wasn't interested in him the same way he was obviously starting to get interested in her?

What if she didn't like him at all?

But surprisingly she smiled broadly at him, accepted his offered hand and tried to stifle the giggle that threatened to escape her beautiful lips. With an elegant nod of her head, Luna linked her arm with Harry's and then waited for him, to lead her to the dancing parquet. The crowed parted for them to allow them to enter. With nearly all of the guests' attention on them instead of on the newlywed ones, Harry and Luna joined the slow waltz.

They moved like they had never done something different. Luna was like a feather in his arms, doing exactly what Harry wanted her to do. In the bright light of the sun, her silver blond hair shone with absolute intensity, nearly blinding some of the guests. All the time she was smiling brightly at Harry, never taking her beautiful, blue eyes off his face.

Hadn't his feet started to hurt; he would have sworn he was in heaven.

While they moved together to the rhythm of the music, a warm feeling of contentedness swapped over Harry and with a broad, flashing smile the young man realized that with this young lady in his arms, the day wasn't going to be as bad as he had thought it to be.

With Luna by his side it was going to be a perfect day.

Smiling idly to himself, Harry stared deeply into Luna's beautiful eyes. One thing was sure and there was no need to deny or change the fact, as it was getting clearer and clearer for him to see. Boy, he had never thought that attending Ron's and Hermione's wedding would lead him to such things. Feeling thankful for his decision to attend, Harry swung Luna around in his arms, enjoying her pretty laugh.

Yes, Harry Potter had lost his heart to the beautiful, special, young woman Luna Lovegood.

* * *

**A/N:** I really hope you like it. As always reviews, constructive critisism and ideas for the plot line are always most welcomed and make my day.


	3. in which a frog is caught

**Finding love in unlikely places**

**Author: **FelesMagica

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter or any of these characters (these belong to J. K. Rowling). However, I **do** own my plot.

**Summary: **After a violent break up, Harry Potter wants to be left alone. He returns to Hogwarts in the firm believe, nobody would come near him there. To bad one of his colleges doesn't see it his way. Can love blossom in this unlikely place?

**Genre: **Romance/Friendship

**Warnings:** This fic is not - and I emphasize NOT - canon. Most of the pairings and happenings will be different, products of my creative mind.

**Challenge:** This is an answer to Deadly Poppy's „Romance-in-20-chapters-challenge".

**Beta-reader:** frannienzbabe, thanks a lot for your wonderful help!

* * *

3. In which a frog is caught:

Slightly nervous Harry sat in the new Headmaster's office and waited for him to come. Lavender had arranged a meeting between the two of them so they could work out Harry's new post. He knew what it meant to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, as he had already done it in his fifth year. He knew where the problems and difficulties lay. The topics were nice; to teach them the message behind them was the importance.

Harry let his eyes wander around the office. After the wedding last week, Harry and Luna had been in daily contact. It had surprised him greatly, when at the end of the wedding, Luna had turned to him and asked him, if they could see each other again soon. Totally surprised by her course of actions, Harry had nodded his head vigorously and promised to write her immediately the next day.

Writing Luna was so different from writing his former best friends. Luna, though perhaps in her own way, listened and rethought each and every thing he wrote. She wouldn't just ignore things she didn't care for, no, if something was wrong in her mind, she would tell him. If he didn't know what to do, she would suggest something useful. So of course he told her about his job offer and that he was going to move to Hogwarts next week. Being the Luna he knew, she had been happy for him and wished him all the best.

So now Harry was sitting in the Headmaster's office, patiently waiting for him to appear.

In this moment the door opened and the new Headmaster entered. Immediately Harry stood up from his chair and waited for the elderly man to sit down before him. Once he sat, Harry sat down himself and looked at the small, thin man with interest shining brightly in his eyes. The Headmaster wore a dark blue and silver robe, with small stars, suns and moons embroided on it. In Harry's mind he didn't look too different from when he had first seen Dumbledore.

"Mr. Potter, so nice to see you. Did you have a pleasant travel?"

Harry returned the smile full and nodded in affirmation. His voice had been nice and caring, like Dumbledore's but oh so different. It held a real caring in it, while the former one's strangely seemed to be fake. Banning this thought from his mind, Harry inclined his head.

"Yes, a very pleasant travel, Headmaster Flitwick. Thank you very much."

The small Headmaster nodded his head at this. Carefully he fetched his wand and brought it to his fingers. With a swift movement, he conjured two tea sets, a kettle of hot tea, milk, sugar, lemons and a plate full of delicious looking and smelling biscuits. With an offering movement Flitwick motioned for the younger wizard to take what he wanted.

"Well, I'm happy to hear you are willing to take over the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Very happy indeed. It seems there still aren't many volunteers for the job and most of the ones that are willing aren't very competent that is. So thank you very much for doing it, Mr. Potter."

Freely Harry laughed at this. It wasn't just to make him feel good. No, sadly what Headmaster Flitwick was telling the truth.

"No problem at all. To be honest, I really enjoy teaching this subject. And as I seem to be rather a natural at this, or so I have been told, I only make sense for me to do this. Well, to the matter at hand, is there something I have to think of while preparing my schedules?"

The laughter was quiet and full of joy.

"Ah, straight to the matter at hand like always, I see. Well, yes, there are some things you should think about. In your rooms there will be the curriculum last teacher's used. Please look through them and organize them the way you deem them right. Also you will have to decide on the textbook you will use next year. After we have arranged the timetables for the next year, you will have to decide on a room and the way you them to be set up. Your office will be next to them and have to be set up after the room and finally a connection between the three rooms will have to be made."

Making a small pause, the Headmaster furrowed his forehead and then titled his head in thought.

"Well, I'm sure some things are missing, but you and I will figure them out in due time."

This made Harry laugh. Yes, he would figure the problems out due to the right time. But the ones he already knew were enough for him. Organizing the curriculums and the timetables would be hard and time consuming. But this about the rooms and the office sounded interesting and great. He always wanted to have rooms for his own and organize them the way he wanted them to be.

"Now, it's getting rather late. Get yourself unpacked and settled in. You shouldn't get started before tomorrow morning. It has been a long and stressful day, so you should take all the time you need to feel content."

Harry was about to open his mouth and ask his new Headmaster where they were situated, when suddenly a knock on the door disrupted the silence and the heavy wooden door slid open. Before Harry could turn around, a small figure entered the room and let itself sink down on the chair to his left.

"Headmaster Flitwick, Harry, nice to see you again."

Harry stared open mouthed at the blond haired beauty that had so easily ensnarled his mind and thoughts. His racing mind wasn't quite capable to understand how this could be. Luna, who had written him this morning and had told him she had some things to do this way and she would tell him about them later, was currently sitting in the chair beside him and smiling broadly at him.

But while Harry was surprised by her appearance, Headmaster Flitwick seemed too expected and waited for her.

"Ah, Miss Lovegood. So good of you to join us. I hope you had a pleasant travel, yes? Well, I was just about to tell Mr. Potter about his living arrangements."

Harry seemed to have missed something he thought. Luna had already been smiling broadly when she had entered the office. But after hearing this last sentence, this smile had only intensified and was at the moment nearly face splitting and blinding. Headmaster Flitwick was meanwhile chuckling lightly and looking rather pleased with himself.

"Well, Mr. Potter, to your living situation. Normally each Professor has his own quarters, a sleeping room, a living room, a study, a dining room, a bathroom and a small kitchen. Those who need are getting additional rooms. The quarters are separated and placed in different parts of the quarters so the supervision of the students will be easier. However in your case, it will be different."

Harry's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. What did they mean with in his case it would be different? What was there to be different? It couldn't have something to do with the number of rooms at Hogwarts. There were enough of them to allow every student a single room. So what else could it be?

"No need to worry, Mr. Potter, no need to worry. Everything is already prepared. No, that isn't the difference. Instead of having a single quarter, you will have a double quarter. You will have a joined living room, two single bedrooms, two single studies, two single bathrooms, a joined dining room and a joined kitchen. All rooms needed will be additionally provided."

The shock, Harry suffered. Was plain visible on his face. He had to share his quarters? Why? There were enough rooms at Hogwarts for everyone. Why had he to share his? A shudder went over his body. For his inner eyes he had imagined he had to share his quarters with Severus Snape and the results had been horrendous. Well, Severus wouldn't be the person he had to share with, as sadly the man had died a brave death during the last battle with Voldemort. Though if he wanted to speak with him and get lectured by him, this would be well possible. On the left side of Headmaster Dumbledore's portrait, Harry briefly had read the name Headmaster Severus Snape.

With a sigh, Harry came back to the matter at hand.

"Okay, who will be the one I will share my quarters with?"

The normally patented twinkle of Dumbledore's eyes was now present in Headmaster Flitwick's grey eyes. He chuckled lightly at seeing the resigned look on Harry's face and shook his head. Next to him, Luna was smiling as broadly as before but chuckling all the same as Headmaster Flitwick. Slowly, Harry started to feel tricked.

"Again, Mr. Potter, no need to worry. You will know your, well, shall I say roommate? The two of you are quite closed and experienced a lot of things together. You will get on really well, I know it. You already did during your time at school. From what I have been told, you have a lot of things in common and you are interested in the same topics, well, except for Quidditch I have to say. No, your roommate isn't too fond and too experienced with it."

Harry felt as if he was about to burst. This must have been visible on his face, too, as Headmaster Flitwick's chuckled intensified and he made pacifying movements with his hands.

"Mr. Potter, you will be delighted to get to know you will be sharing your quarters with our new teacher for Magical Creatures, Professor Lovegood."

The silence that ensued was absolute. A falling needle would have been heard crashing on the floor. Not knowing what to say, Harry stared further at Luna, his soon to colleague. He couldn't believe it. Luna was going to be the Professor for Care of Magical Creatures. It was unbelievable; he was going to start the next year at Hogwarts together with Luna.

His mind hadn't realized what joined living arrangements really meant.

Before he could register the extent of these words, Luna straightened up in her chair and turned to look at the still broadly smiling Headmaster. The surprise had worked exactly like they had wanted it to. Nodding lightly at him and receiving a wink of the eyes as an answer, Luna smoothly stood up from her chair and pulled Harry with her. Taking a firm grip on his upper arm, Luna straightened Harry up and then smiled benevolently.

"Well, Headmaster Flitwick, it was really nice having met you. Thank you very much for sharing all this information with us, but now, I think, we should really go. It is late and we will have to get settled in our rooms, first. Thank you again. Have a nice evening and a good night. It won't be necessary to send for a house elf. I will show Mr. Potter the way to our quarters, as I already know where they are located."

Intensifying her grip on his upper arm, Luna dragged Harry wordlessly out of the room. Harry, still not able to speak or think properly, was left to nod at his new Headmaster to bid goodnight. The old man returned the gesture with a fond smile on his lips and a startling twinkle in his eyes. If only the door had stayed open a little longer, he could have heard the delighted, joyful laugh that left his lips.

While Luna was still dragging a silent Harry through the endless corridors of Hogwarts, she was talking animatedly to him.

"I was so happy to hear you wanted to start teaching at Hogwarts. I was thinking about doing the same, but I wasn't entirely sure whether I wanted to do it. You know, after my father died, I was so alone. Nobody came by and looked after me. And now, I'm finally not alone anymore, thanks to you, Harry, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to risk being alone again just to be able to teach. But when you told me you were about to start teaching at Hogwarts, I just knew I wanted, too."

Stopping in front of a nice painting, showing a blond haired, white dressed young woman stroking a unicorn. Whispering a clear "full moon midnight" the painted opened and the entered their new home. With a look of surprise Harry realized, the room was decorated very nicely. It was held in warm brown and beige tones, with accents of gold and bronze. If it had been his room to decorate, Harry might have decorated it a little bit different, but still it look rather nice.

"I hope you don't mind the colours and the decoration. It was painted in blue and pink tones before. I didn't think you would like this, so I took the liberty to redecorate it a little. I don't know if something would have been better, so I decided to paint it in something neutral."

The room to enter first was the living room. To the right led an open door to a spotless kitchen, painted in white, and to the dining room. To the left were to doors, both had their names written on them. From what he could decipher, both sleeping rooms must hold a separate bath room. To his left were also some doors leading to their studies, working rooms and a library.

Sitting down on the comfortable couch, Luna pulled an unresisting Harry with her. With a quick wave of her wand, a tea can, two cups and a plate full of different cookies appeared. Putting a cup filled with black tea into Harry's hand, Luna grabbed a small cookie and munched on it.

"Yeah, it's really nice, Luna. I really love it."

Luna smiled and took a sip of her tea. Leaning back into the couch, she let her gaze wander over the books and the furniture standing around. There were some flowers standing in vases on the sideboard, Three huge windows were at the wall behind them, offering a magnificent view over the lake and parts of the Forbidden Forest. Paintings and pieces of art completed the nice picture.

"I am glad you like it. At first not only the colours were different. There has only been bathroom and a single bedroom before. I know Headmaster Flitwick explained it differently, but there is a rule circling around this topic. Only married people are allowed to share their rooms. Otherwise everybody would be able to do so and that contradict the sense of this rule. So in order to allow us to share rooms and not have to live alone, I had to tell Headmaster Flitwick we have been going out for some time now."

Whatever Harry had expected, that wasn't it. Due to his surprised and sudden intake of breath, unfortunately while he was actually sipping his tea, Harry took in tea instead of air and quite painfully choked on it. After a lot of coughing and some help from pats from Luna on his back, his problem solved itself and he was finally able to breathe again.

"You… did… what?"

Hi breath still came a little bit laboured. Luna, being her true self, smiled broadly at him. When she noticed he was still not able to speak properly, she placed her hands before his throat and then waved lightly before it. With big eyes he stared at her.

"What are you doing, Luna?"

This time it was Luna's turn to look at him with wide, incredulous eyes. Harry inwardly slapped himself. Yes, Luna had changed after the war and her father's death. In fact, she had changed quite a lot. But sometimes she was just her old, slightly loony self. Nevertheless he liked her, both sides of her character.

"Don't you know it? It's a German ritual. They think that if you are choking and can't speak properly, you have a frog in your throat. That is why I was waving before your throat. I wanted to attract it so you can speak properly again. And, you see, it worked quite well, didn't it?"

Smiling fondly at the blond girl sitting next to him. She truly was something. He liked her, really liked her. The fluttering feeling in his stomach and the tightening in his lungs, were the first but most important signs he was about to fall in love with her. And now he was going to live with her in the same quarters for the next year or longer. Perhaps something bigger might grow out of this.

"Yes, Luna, you caught my frog."

* * *

A/N: I haven't been updating this story for quite some time. I know this and I am terribly sorry. But sadly I have neither the time nor the inspiration to continue all of my uncompleted stories. That is why I opened a poll on my profile. I want to know which story interest my readers the most, so I can try to finish at least this one. So, please, help me, visit my profile and vote for your favourite story. Thanks!


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